The Indianapolis journal., 1887-12-06
THE RIGHTS OF THE STATES
The United States Supreme Court Deter
mines Two Highly Important Cases.
State Has Right to Prohibit Manufacture
of intoxicants, Is Not Liable for Damages,
and Cannot Be Brought Into Court.

| cision and likely to be farreaching in its
consequences, was rendered in the United States
Supreme Court to-day, in the SO called Kansas
| prohibition cases of Mugler against the State Of
| Kansas. and the State of Kansas against Ziebold
| and others The judgment of the court was pro-
nounced in a long and elaborate opinion by Mr..
| Justice Harlan, who said:
| "The general question in each case is whether
the prohibition statutes of Kan sas are in conflict
| with that clause of the fourteenth amendment
which provides that no State shail make or en-
| force any law which shall abridge the privileges
| or immunites of citizens of the United States
| shall any State deprive any person of
| life liberty, property without due process
| of law That legislation by State prohi biting
| the manufacture within her limits of intoxicat-
| ing liquors, to be resold or bartered for general
| use a beverage. does not necessarily infringe
| any right, privilege or immunity secured by the
| Constitution of the United States. is made clear
| and since the adoption of the fourteenth amend
| ment. 1t is, however. contended that, although
the State may prohibit the manufacture of in
| toxlcating LIQUORS for sale or barter within her
| limits for general use as beverage no conven-
| tion Legislature has the right, under our
form of government, to prohibit any citizen from
| manufacturing, for his Cor export or
storage, any article of food drink not
| endangeriug or affecting the rights of others.
The argument made in support of the first
branch of this proposition, briefly stated, is:
| That in the implied compacts between the State
| and the citizen. certain rights are reserved by
| the latter which are guaranteed by the constitu-
tiona provisions for the protection of life lib
erty and property against deprivation without
| due process of law. and with which the State
| rights is that of manufacturing, for ones
| own use, either food or drink that while accord
| ing to the doctrines of the commune, the State
may control the tastes, appettites habits. dress.
food and drink of the citizen our system OF gov
ernment. based upon the individu uaity and intel
| hgence of the people. does not claim to control
him except as to his conduct to Others leaving
him the sole judge as to all that only affects
himself.
It will ha hat he nd
the argument made in support of 1t. equally
| concede the right to manufacture drinks for
ones personal use subject to the condition that
| such manufacture does not sndanger or affect
the rights of others. If such manufaeture does
prejudicialy affect the rights and interests of
the community, it follows from the very prem
ises stated by counsel that society has the pow
er to protect itself by legislation against the in
furious consciousness es & of that business 1;1aa;s
| t94 U. S. 124), while power does not
| exist with the whole people to control
| government may require each citizen SO to con-
| duct himself and SO to use his own property as
| not unnecessarily to lnJure another. But oy
| whether the manufacture OF particular articles
of drink, either for general use or for the per
| sonal use of the maker, will injuriously affect
the publicl Power to determine such questions,
| so as to bind all. must exist somewhere. else
| society will be at the mercy OF the few who re-
garding only their own appeiites passions,
may be willing to mperil the peace and security
of the many, provided only they are permitted
to do as they please Under our system that
power is lodged with the legislative branches
| of the government. It belongs to that depart
ment to exert what are known IS the police
| powers of the State. 1t must determine prma-
rily what measures are appropriate or needful
| for the protection of the public morals. the
public health, or the public safety. 1t does not
every statute enacted ostensibly for the pro-
motion of these ends is to be accepted as
legitimate exerton of the police powers OF tho
State. There are of necessity, limits beyond
which legislation cannot rightfuy go. AS the
courts must obey tine Consti tuition rather than
the law making department OF government
they must, upon their responsibility, determine
whether in any particular case these limits have
been passed. The courts are not bound by mere
FORMS nor they to be misled by pre-
lenses. They are at liberty, indeed. also. under
solemn duty to look at the substance Of things
whenever they enter upon the inquiry whether
the Legislature has transcended the limits Of its
authority. If, therefore, a statute purporting to
have been enacted to protect the public health tho
public morals, or the public safety, has no real
or substantial relation to those objects, or is q
palpable invasion of the rights secured by the
fundamental law. it is the duty Of the courts to
adjudge and thereby give effect to the Con-
stitution. Keeping in view these principles as
governing the relations with each other OF the
judicial and legislative departments of govern
ment. it is difficult to perceive any ground tor
the judiciary to declare that the prohibition by
Kansas of the manufacture or sale within her
limits of intoxicating liquors for general use
there as a beverage, is not fairly adapted to the
end of protecting the community against the
evils which confessedly result from the exces-
.sThere is here no justification for holding
that the State under the guise merely of police
regulations, is aiming 20 deprive the citizen OF
his constitutional rights; for we cannot shut out
of view the fact, within the knowledge OF all.
that the public health, the public morals and
the public safety, may be endangered by the
general use of Intoxicating drinks. Nor can we
ignore the fact established by statistics accessi
bic to everyone that the disorder, paupersm
and crime prevalent in the country are in large
measure directly traceable to this evil If,
therefore. State deems the absolute prohibi-
tion of the manufacture and sale within her
limits of intoxicating liquors for other than
medical scientific and manufacturing pur-
poses, to be necessary to the peace
aud security of society. the courts cannot
override the will OF the people
thus expressed by their chosen representatives
1t is a fundamental principle in our institutions
indispensable to the preservation of public lib
erty. that one of the separate departments OF
government shall not usurp powers committed
by the Constitution to another department
And So if in the Judgment of the Legislature,
the manufacture of Intoxicating liquors for the
makers own use as a beverage would tend to
community against the evils attending the ex-
cessive use of such liquors, it is not for the
courts, upon their views as TO what is best and |
safest for the community, to disregard the ieeis-
lative determination of that question. So far |
from such regulation being inappropri- |
ate to the general end sought to
that the entire scheme OF prohi oition |
as embodied in the Constitution and laws OF |
Kansas fnlgnL Iail IL risnI u cocn ciliLou
to manufacture intoxicating liquors for his |
beverage were recognized Such
a right does not inhere in citizenship Nor can |
it be said that the government interteres with
or impairs any ones constitutional rights of |
liberty of property, when 1t determines that |
the manufacture and sale of intoxicating |
drinks for general or individual use as bever-
age are or may become hurtful to society and to |
every member of it, and is therefore business
in which no one eau lawfully engage. This con-
clusion is unavoidable, unless the fourteenth
amendment of the Constitution takes from the
States of the Union those powers OF police
that were reserved at the time the original
Constitution adopted But this court has
declared, upon full consideration lin Barber
Connolly, 113 U. s. 31 that the fourteenth |
amendment had no such effect.
with reference to the assertion that the pro-